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Nanny State Rears it's Ugly Head...Again!

I am a lifelong non-smoker... but this is asinine. Don't they have anything better to worry about?

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Minnesota set to ban smoking ANYWHERE on county grounds (even inside cars in the parking lot)

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 11:27 AM on 21st February 2011

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The most populous county in Minnesota is planning to prohibit smoking on any county property, even if smokers are in their own cars.

Lighting up is already banned inside the Hennepin County Government Center in Minneapolis but if new proposals are approved, smokers may be liable for fines on pavements outside and in vehicles parked on county grounds.

Board chairman Mike Opat said the new ban would tackle ‘an ugly and disgusting habit that visits itself on everybody else’.

Dying breed: A Minnesota county plans to ban smoking on grounds, even in smokers' cars

If passed, the ban would take effect from July 1 at county buildings, with further measures rolled out at libraries, county sites and county-leased properties over the subsequent months.

Jill Hamilton, who runs the Hennepin Couynty Healthworks programme, said smokers would not be sought out but redirected by security staff if spotted lighting up on prohibited ground.

‘The intent is not to punish anybody, it's to create a healthy environment,’ she told the Star Tribune.

Supporters of the plans believe it would reduce county employees' exposure to secondhand smoke as well as improving workplace productivity and creating a cleaner environment outside county buildings.

‘If we're able to pass this policy, it would help pave the way for other counties going through the same struggles and pave the way as an example,’ said Tera King, wellness analyst for the Healthworks programme.

It was reported earlier this month that several hospitals and medical firms are not considering job applications from smokers while the Hennepin County proposals seem aligned to a growing nationwide movement for smoking bans in public buildings.

But while the Hennepin County Board is taking a stand on public health issues, other state legislators want a smoking-ban for bars and restaurants to be repealed.

The plan to prohibit smoking on county property has also been questioned by Commissioner Jeff Johnson - a non-smoker – who said legislation could be heavy-handed when smokers could simply walk across the road from county buildings.

The "do-gooders" at their best. The entire smoking nazi crowd is a microcosm of what ails this nation....to damned many liberals sticking their noses into eveyone elses business.

They seem to revel in their new found power, like all liberals do. They can't wait to have your freedoms legislated away, but God forbid should you suddenly find a way to gore their ox.

Conservatives that don't like smoking, just go to facilities that have a "no smoking" program, as is their right as any business. For these nazis to impose their will on a private business like a bar or casino is pure facism.

Sodak is finding out that their 'do-gooders' have gone too far. They have jacked up the cost of cigarettes to the point the states revenue has plummeted from that tax. And the taxes the state was collecting from the little casinos has also dropped precipitously since they placed a ban on all smoking in those facilities. Talk about living in Cuba.

A petition to bring that up for another vote is being circulated, so I suspect we will have another look at the 'nanny state' crap that the voters mindlessly created, never once thinking about the consequences of their actions. Now that the state is forced to reduce their employees due to shortfalls in revenue, the liberals are suddenly getting the message. We conservatives can only hope these poor 'well-meaning' ignoramuses will get the message, and return the freedoms to the people.

UB

When the one you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.

The "do-gooders" at their best. The entire smoking nazi crowd is a microcosm of what ails this nation....to damned many liberals sticking their noses into eveyone elses business.

They seem to revel in their new found power, like all liberals do. They can't wait to have your freedoms legislated away, but God forbid should you suddenly find a way to gore their ox.

Conservatives that don't like smoking, just go to facilities that have a "no smoking" program, as is their right as any business. For these nazis to impose their will on a private business like a bar or casino is pure facism.

Sodak is finding out that their 'do-gooders' have gone too far. They have jacked up the cost of cigarettes to the point the states revenue has plummeted from that tax. And the taxes the state was collecting from the little casinos has also dropped precipitously since they placed a ban on all smoking in those facilities. Talk about living in Cuba.

A petition to bring that up for another vote is being circulated, so I suspect we will have another look at the 'nanny state' crap that the voters mindlessly created, never once thinking about the consequences of their actions. Now that the state is forced to reduce their employees due to shortfalls in revenue, the liberals are suddenly getting the message. We conservatives can only hope these poor 'well-meaning' ignoramuses will get the message, and return the freedoms to the people.

UB

They will just find something else to tax into oblivion...like soft drinks, fast food, candy etc... They can't see the forest for the the trees.

Sodak is finding out that their 'do-gooders' have gone too far. They have jacked up the cost of cigarettes to the point the states revenue has plummeted from that tax. And the taxes the state was collecting from the little casinos has also dropped precipitously since they placed a ban on all smoking in those facilities. Talk about living in Cuba.

UB

I thought that SD had a great libertarian tradition. So imagine how surprised this "liberal" who voted AGAINST the smoking ban and FOR the medical marijuana was when my conservative state voted overwhelmingly the opposite way on both issues.

"For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required." -- Luke 12:48

wait a minute, Buzz- you say it was the conservatives that went after the smokers and UB says it was the liberals. does either one of you have access to the actual vote? it seems like it would have to be some of each to pass the law.

wait a minute, Buzz- you say it was the conservatives that went after the smokers and UB says it was the liberals. does either one of you have access to the actual vote? it seems like it would have to be some of each to pass the law.

No doubt there are plenty 'independants' in this state to go along with the liberal I-29 corridor, where the majority of the liberals reside. The peoples republic of Sioux Falls is the liberal bastion, with the largest population. Whenever there is a Republican elected, it takes the West River population to offset the numbers in Sx Flls, Aberdeen, the illustrious home of that great socialist Tom Dashole, and those two university conclaves in Brookings and Vermillion. Throw in Huron, Mitchell, and Watertown, and youy can see why the West River has it's work cut out for it when it comes to getting a conservative into national office.

One thing that can be said about the majority of those that vote Democrat, it was a family hand-me-down, began by the 'old-timers' that went through the dirty thirties and with the CCC's and WPA began under Roosevelt, they were gathered into the Democrat party, and their children followed suit. It happened in my family, and the large majority of my friends families. Most of these Democrats, however, were quite conservative, as was pointed out to Mr. Dashole when he left the reservation and became enamored with the Washington liberals.

My father figured out the Democrats had left him with the Carter administration, and switched when Reagan came along. After the LBJ fiasco in the POTUS chair, I could no longer vote the Democratic platform. I had basically no where to go, however, with the likes of Nixon, or McGovern or everything prior to Reagan. I thank God he came along, so I could once again refresh my beliefs in conservatism, and my love for the USA.

The psuedo anti-smoking crowd have suddenly been made to realize their votes have consequences, and they were sold a batch of BS. They didn't think beyond their noses when they voted for the ban. Now that they have seen the results of their actions, many are realizing it's coming at a cost they hadn't considered. They are also realizing they didn't actually have a dog in that hunt, but were swayed into thinking "what could be the harm??"
Now that they know, many may get back to the realization they removed a form of freedom they shouldn't have been involved in. One can only hope.

UB

When the one you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure.